Ask Lisa: Sour cream not the best substitute for cream cheese when baking

Wednesday

Jun 28, 2017 at 10:38 AMJun 28, 2017 at 10:38 AM

Lisa Abraham More Content Now

Q: I have a question about substitutions that can be used for baked goods (or maybe not). Can these items be used interchangeably: 8 ounces sour cream, 8 ounces plain Greek yogurt, 8 ounces buttermilk, 8 ounces cream cheese?— Susan Hunter, Reynoldsburg, Ohio

A: You are nearly correct. Sour cream, plain yogurt and buttermilk are worthy substitutes for each other when baking, or making salad dressings or dips.

Cream cheese, though, is a different entity.

Leaving it out of cheesecake in favor of sour cream, for example, would result in a cake without much structure — and without any cheese. Don’t forget, ingredients add structure as well as flavor to baked goods.

When baking, mascarpone, Neufchatel, ricotta, cottage cheese or even tofu would make better substitutes for cream cheese than yogurt, sour cream or buttermilk.

If you are making a dip and don’t have sour cream, it would be fine to substitute cream cheese, but you will have to whip it with several tablespoons of milk to achieve a dipping consistency, rather than a spreading consistency.